The drive home to Andrew’s apartment was admittedly a pleasant one, the two of them talking about their various build ideas, or what they’ve experienced thus far upon entering the game. Apparently Robert was going for a sort of duelist build, someone who was designed for one on one fights and less for group play.

Robert seemed to find Andrew’s build idea funny, “You’re going for an assassin build? That’s pretty dark man, you know that in the game, the damage systems are really realistic right?” It was true, while everything and everyone had hit points, stabbing someone through the heart was almost an instant kill.

“Yeah, I know that. I was going to play as a mage, but for some reason my character doesn’t have Mana, despite the intelligence being above what the system claims to be the average. I’ve never really been a fan of the warrior play-style, you know?” Andrew explained, watching the scenery go by as he rode in the passenger seat of Roberts mustang. “I was going to go for an archer build, but I figured they have some pretty glaring weaknesses, the cost of buying arrows being one of them. What if I’m out in the woods and I run out of arrows right before I get attacked?”

Robert simply shrugged, pulling into a right hand turn as he thought about it for a moment. “Well, magic is pretty rare in the game. I heard some NPCs saying something about a calamity that happened a long time ago that made magic and magical items really hard to come by?” The game had only been out for two days now, so it wasn’t surprising that no one had found a way to get mana yet. “As for the archer stuff, yeah that’s always going to be their weakness, so is being up close.”

Robert pulled into the apartment complex that Andrew lived in, and pulled into a random parking space, turning to look and Andrew and saying, “Anyways man, you should try to sign up for some unemployment before getting into the game, I know you’re planning to make the game your full time job and all, but remember that after the free subscription ends, you’ll have to pay that alongside all your other bills, so probably best you have some other kind of income, yeah?”

Andrew’s face went pale, he hadn’t thought that far ahead, and was suddenly dreading how much gold he would have to earn in game in order to sustain himself. Especially since he has yet to make a single copper! “R-right… I’ll do that before I log in today then.” He opened the door and grabbed his phone from the middle console, stepping out into the mid-day sun with a sigh, before suddenly turning back to Robert, “By the way, what guild are you in?” He asked as he closed the door.

Robert grinned at his friend, the kind of grin someone has when they’re in on a joke that no one else knows about, “Oh, you’ll know when you find me. Happy grinding!” He claimed with a laugh, before pulling out of the parking space and driving away. He always was a bit odd, seems to be a side effect of having a lot of money.

******

When Andrew got home, the very first thing he did was what Robert had suggested. He sat down at his expensive gaming computer and pulled up the website for unemployment. Luckily being unemployed was a pretty common thing these days, so the process was pretty easy to go through, and it only took about two hours.

Andrew couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that his computer cost more than the car that had just been stolen, and now he probably wouldn’t be using it for anything more than browsing the web. Andrew was pretty upset about his car being stolen, of course, but he was still riding the high of telling his boss off like that, which had been a dream of his ever since he started working there.

Andrew leaned back in his chair a moment to just relax. He wanted to get in the game for sure, but he wanted to just take a moment and do nothing. As he sit there and let his thoughts wander aimlessly, he wondered what he would be doing with his life from here. Would he live on the game for days at a time, and never leave the house? The thought made him shudder, he didn’t want to be one of those people. He would have to set up a schedule to work out and leave the house every now and again so he wouldn’t become a shut-in.

His thoughts complete, Andrew took a sleeping aid from his medicine cabinet and swallowed it, undressing from his uniform and laying in bed under the comforter. Yes it was the middle of summer, but Andrew loved to keep his AC on full blast in the house so he could be bundled up like it was winter. Was that good for the electricity bill? No, but it was certainly good for his state of mind.

Andrew slid his headset on, and quickly the world around him faded away to black as he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts swimming back and forth as his mind began to connect to the game. There was a sudden shift, like falling sideways, and Andrew - no Andius - opened his eyes to find himself still tied to the branch of the tree where he had logged out.

Almost immediately, the smell of decay hit him like a hammer to the face, and it was all he could do not to gag outright. Looking down, he saw the carcasses of the wolves he had fought just yesterday, chunks of their bodies missing and bone showing in many places. The sight was genuinely gruesome, and he didn’t want to stick around and look at it.

Andius untied the cloak he was using to secure himself to the tree and put it back on, before slowly clambering his way down the tree and touching the ground shortly after. Once he was on the ground, he immediately moved off to the side of the trail and crouched in the underbrush, moving further along the path he had been following the day before in hopes of finding somewhere safe, or somewhere profitable.

It was early morning in game right now, and since he didn’t have to go through character creation like last time, he should have a good bit of playtime today. He still wasn’t sure how his session was cut off short last time, since it seemed like was only playing for three hours when he got the notification to wake up.

A notification interrupted his thoughts, and nearly make him shout in surprise, which would have been bad, given what the notification said.

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Stealth Level: 1

The oldest and wisest of warriors will tell you that sometimes, avoiding confrontation is better than facing it head-on. Where others charge into battle without a thought, you slink about the battlefield and plan out your first strike. True masters of this skill have been known to hide from even the eyes of the gods!

+2*x% chance to remain undetected while stationary, where x is the level of this skill. +x% chance to remain undetected while moving, where x is the level of this skill. Damage is doubled when attacking from stealth.

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As with all the other skills Andius had received, a memory flashed into his mind. He was a thief, dressed entirely in leathers and wearing a dark cloak , looking very much like he does now, except he had no daggers, and he wore different shoes that seemed to make his footfalls entirely silent.

He was in the middle of a camp of enemy soldiers, sneaking between guards and sleeping people, going to each tent slowly and stealing food, arrows, swords. Anything he could get away with taking, he did. And through it all no one ever saw him, even when one of the guards was looking right at him, he didn’t seem to notice Andius, looking as if he was just another part of the scenery.

Andius’ eyes bulged out of his head when the memory finished, looking at the skill with awe. This skill doubled damage from stealth, daggers doubled damage on back-stabs! This must be how assassins can deal so much damage in a single blow with such weak weapons, they doubled the damage of the weapon twice!

His awe was cut off when he heard the snarling, and suddenly he realized why he had gotten the skill gain. Ahead of him was a human man cowering on the ground, looking to be in about his late forties. Standing in front of the man were two creatures that looked like a mixture between a hyena and a giant human, which Andius knew were Gnolls thanks to the amount of time he spent playing video games.

Both Gnolls were wearing leather armor that barely protected their chest, clearly a race that prefers movement over protection. On their backs were quivers and a bow, a dagger in one of the Gnolls hands, the other was currently empty handed. Andius watched as the one with the knife started to approach the man, who immediately started to whimper and try to back away.

With a sigh, he realized he couldn’t just sit back and watch this person be killed. “Well, guess it’s time to test out these new skills.” He whispered silently to himself, praying that his only level 1 skill would be enough to sneak up to the first Gnoll. With slow movements, Andius left the shrubs he had been hiding in, creeping ever so slowly towards his first target.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as the closer of the two Gnolls barked something at the other in their native tongue, but luckily the second didn’t look back in time to react, as Andius had made it up to the large creature. This close up he realized the sheer size of these things, they were at least seven feet tall, and they were in a constant state of slouching. He wondered for a moment if he would be able to take this beast down with a single blow, but it was too late to back out now.

With slow movements, Andius drew his daggers from his sheath and held them in reversed grips, suddenly surging them forward at the monster, one driving into it’s spine in the small of it’s back, the other trying to reach it’s lung through its back. There was a gurgling shout as the creature cried out in pain. Luckily for it, it died within a second later, but that shout had alerted the other Gnoll! “Oh fuck!” Andius exclaimed quite eloquently as his other opponent whipped around to see him killing it’s comrade!

Knowing that this Gnoll was an archer, Andius rushed in to close the distance as fast as he could, which was to his benefit as it had already started to draw it’s bow. He reached his target as fast as possible and slashed at the arm going for the bow, cutting the flesh shallowly but making the creature bleed and let go of the ranged weapon.

The beast of a Gnoll surged forward with it’s knife, narrowly missing as Andius dodged to the side to avoid the blow.

——————

Dodge lev-

“Not now!” Andius cried as he swiped away the disruptive notification, only to see a fist soar into his face, throwing him onto his back as searing hot pain enveloped his entire skull. he blinked away the stars to see that the Gnoll had leapt through the air towards him, intend on using it’s momentum to skewer him with it’s small blade!

With a push to the ground, Andius narrowly rolled out of the way in time, getting to his feet quickly and delivering a swift kick to the back of his opponent, which only served to throw him off balance as the creature didn’t move at all from the blow.

Backing away, Andius held his blades like he had against the wolves, one blade reversed against his chest and the other out in front of him. “Fast and shallow… that’s how I have to do this.” He breathed to himself, reminding him how a rogue was supposed to fight. He took a low stance, straining his legs to be able to spring in any direction at a moments notice and counter attack.

The Gnoll had a similar plan, and was crouched nearly as low as he was, which was impressive given it’s size. It snarled a challenge to the foolish human who dared attack it, and charged forward, bringing it’s fist to bear towards Andius’ face.

He dodged to the side just in time, scoring a slash to the back of it’s arm with his reversed dagger, only to receive a stab to his side as his reward! Andius cried out in pain as he felt the blade penetrate his cheap leather armor and draw blood, backing away from the creature and looking at his own wound.

HP: 80/110(Bleeding -0.25hp per second.)

“Oh, that’s not good…” He silently cursed, knowing he had to end this soon or he would be sent to respawn. This time he took the initiative and charged at the beast, who met his charge with it’s own. The beast surged it’s blade towards Andius, and he did something incredibly stupid. He jumped up to avoid the swing, jabbing his dagger into it’s shoulder as he cleared it and used his momentum to end up behind it, jabbing his second dagger into it’s back and making it howl in agony from the extra damage achieved from his back-stab!

A swift backhand sent Andius sprawling from the Gnoll, losing one of his daggers in the process and onto his back. Agony shot through him as he landed awkwardly, and the loud snapping sound told him that he had broken his left arm!

HP: 45/110(Bleeding -0.20hp per second)

This wasn’t looking good, but the bleeding was slowing, at the current rate, he just might survive the experience if the Gnoll didn’t kill him outright. Looking up, he could see the Gnoll limping towards him, blood dripping down it’s back from the powerful stab wound Andius had inflicted upon it. But it was doing far better than Andius was, and it ripped his dagger from it’s back, making it’s way over to the human with slow steps, murder in it’s eyes for the human who had dared hurt it.

Andius didn’t have a whole lot of options left, he didn’t have the strength to stand, and his left arm had been broken. When the Gnoll reached him and raised his own dagger to end his life, Andius threw the dice in a last ditch effort to survive. He threw his last dagger as hard as he could at the Gnoll… only for it to bounce off of its armor as the handle hit it.

Dread filled Andius as the Gnoll barked a laugh at him, shaking it’s head and raising the dagger once again. A smirk crossed the beasts face as it plunged the blade downwards!

Then it suddenly stopped, looking at it’s side that had an arrow sticking out of it. Both Andius and the Gnoll turned to see where the arrow had come from, and found that it had come from the human the Gnolls were attacking! The man stood there, legs shaking with fear in his eyes as the Gnoll fell over, finally defeated by their efforts, and Andius lay back exhausted, closing his eyes as sleep came over him. The last thing he remembered before unconsciousness took him, were notifications popping to life.

——————

Dodge Level: 3

You can wear armor or use a shield to take less damage, or you can avoid it all together, which is better? While others may think heavy armor protects them, you know it’s simply in the way of your true potential. True masters of this skill can stand in a hail of arrows and never take a single blow!

+x(2)% dodging speed while in combat, where x is the level of this skill. +0.Y(0.21)*X(2)% chance to dodge an attack automatically, where x is the level of this skill and where Y is your dexterity.

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Acrobatics Level: 1

Death defying stunts and tricks on the battlefield may seem like a waste of time, but the greatest of duelists know that every movement has a purpose. While others may choose to have a solid stance, you prefer to move more fluidly. Masters of this skill can slay foes without ever touching the ground!

+X(1)+Y(21)% chance to perform an acrobatic stunt, where X is the level of this skill and Y is your Dexterity. +X(1)% chance to maneuver your opponent to your advantage when performing a stunt, where X is the level in this skill.

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Throwing Level: 1

Some may think it is foolish to throw one’s weapon in the middle of a fight, but few know how truly devastating the effects of such an attack may be! Masters of this skill can throw a blade so powerfully and accurately, it would cut an arrow in half mid-flight!

+X(1)+Y(21)% accuracy when throwing a weapon you are familiar with, where X is the level of this skill, and Y is your Dexterity. +X%(1) damage dealt when a successful throwing attack is made with a weapon you are familiar with, where X is the level of this skill.

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Dagger level: 6

It’s not always the size that matters, users of the small blades prove this in strides. Where a warrior might take on his opponent with sheer force, you use finesse, subtly and stealth to resolve your issues. True masters of this skill can lay waste to entire armies without breaking a sweat!

+x(6)% damage when using daggers, where x is the level in this skill. +x(6)% chance to ignore armor and critically strike when using daggers, where x is the level in this skill. Damage with daggers is doubled when backstabbing.

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Light armor Level: 4

Whereas warriors wear metal, and mages wear their fancy robes, you prefer the middle ground, leather armor and the like protect you from minor blows while your agility protects you from the devastating ones.

-x(4)% hindrance while only wearing light armor. +x(4)% noise reduction while only wearing light armor.

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Congratulations, you have reached level 4! You now have 10 attribute points to spend across your stats, and 6 skill points to spend on your skills!

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